When our needs aren't met early in life,
We will often think it's because there's something wrong with us.
That we are maybe undeserving of love and care.
If others have made us feel small,
We may come to believe that we are small.
If we've been treated badly,
The idea of power may have some negative connotations.
We often think of power over someone else,
The feeling of power that comes from disempowering others.
We can see this pattern clearly in childhood.
The bullies on the playground are usually trying to regain a sense of power after being bullied or feeling disempowered themselves.
Unfortunately,
This phenomenon doesn't end in childhood.
We see people in all areas of life putting others down to regain a sense of power.
This is the dark side of power.
But there's a light side too.
The power that comes from being ourselves,
From expressing our truth.
Today we are going to take back our sense of power,
Recognizing that we didn't deserve to be treated unfairly,
And finding a sense of empowerment in simply being who we are.
Here with a few deep breaths,
Just feeling the body gently expanding on the inhale.
Feeling the spine become long,
Feeling this quality of alert presence.
And on the exhale,
Tune into this quality of ease,
Feeling your body soften,
Feeling the sense of letting go,
Just allowing everything to be as it is in this moment.
And starting by just noticing this sense of empowerment,
How empowered do you feel right now?
And just noticing how this feels,
What this default state is.
But starting to imagine ourselves becoming more and more empowered.
Imagine yourself breathing in this sense of empowerment,
Feeling it expand through your whole being.
Feeling the sense of being fully empowered in being yourself.
We often make ourselves small,
So what would it feel like to make yourself big?
Allow your body and energy to feel open,
Expansive,
And radiant.
Feel this power radiating through your being and radiating out of your being.
When we are disempowered,
We often feel insignificant or undeserving.
So what would it be like to actively cultivate these feelings of significance,
Of deservingness?
Feel the power of these qualities in your being.
Feel it in your posture,
Allow your posture to be relaxed,
Open.
Feel tall in your posture,
Feel your chest open and vulnerable.
Feel a sense of grounded sturdiness,
A sense of integrity and dignity.
Imagine yourself embodying this power in the same way a mountain embodies power.
You can even imagine yourself as a mountain,
Being big,
Majestic,
But also peaceful and unmoving.
Find this relaxed sense of power,
The power in the soft quality of presence,
The power in your gentle breath.
And allow yourself to feel more and more expansive with every inhale,
Feeling big,
Feeling powerful.
Relax.
Give yourself permission to embody your full expansive nature.
And now,
Just be curious.
What's in the way?
What's keeping you from fully embodying and expressing this power?
Are there thoughts or beliefs keeping you from being fully empowered?
See if you can get a sense.
Can you feel yourself holding these limitations in your body?
See if you can breathe big,
Opening yourself up,
Feeling your expansive nature,
Letting whatever is in the way of your power soften and melt away.
Softening and melting with each breath.
Feeling your natural expansiveness,
Your limitless nature.
What kind of authentic self-image is empowering to you?
What qualities do you possess that are empowering to you?
Or maybe it's empowering to just let go of any self-image altogether,
To simply rest in this expansive,
Open state.
Breathe full,
Gentle breaths,
Feeling an embodied empowerment.
Exhale,
And release anything that's in the way.
Softening anything that's blocking this expansive quality of being.
And now,
Letting go of the practice and just noticing how you're feeling right now.
Being curious about how this practice impacted you.
We encounter so many disempowering messages and experiences in our lives that sometimes we start to believe them.
This is a mistake.
Don't let anyone tell you that you need to be someone or achieve something to feel good about yourself.
Empowerment isn't something you need to earn,
It's something you reveal by letting go of all the beliefs and ideas that are obstructing you from your innate,
Radiant,
Expansive nature.
Thank you for your practice.
